Correlation of mandibular bone quality with neurosensory disturbance after sagittal split ramus osteotomy

Our aim was to find out whether the quality of bone around the inferior alveolar nerve is correlated with neurosensory disturbance to the nerve after sagittal split ramus osteotomy (SSRO) in patients with mandibular prognathism. Computed tomograms (CT) were taken of 35 patients with mandibular prognathism and 35 without. To assess the density of bone around the inferior alveolar nerve, the width of the buccal cortical bone in the mandibular second molar regions was measured on CT. The Hounsfield units (HU) in the same regions were also measured. The number of HU in the mandible around the second molar regions was significantly higher (p<0.01) in those with neurosensory disturbance (p<0.01). The quality of bone measured by HU is associated with an increased risk of neurosensory disturbance, but the width of buccal bone is not.